Author and illustrator Ricardo Liniers Siri, better known as simply Liniers, gives us a glimpse into his magical, imaginative mind in this delightful beginner reader comic. He is becoming more and more of a well-known name in the literary world as he receives more acclaim with each work he publishes. He won the Eisner Award for Best Comics for Beginning Readers for his second book, Good Night, Planet.
Wildflowers starts off with a page of wordless panels showing dramatic smoke coming from a lone tropical island. The smoke turns out to be coming from a plane crash where, luckily, three sisters have survived unharmed. They find themselves in a magical kind of world, full of exotic and wild plants. Are the plants speaking to them? Are there dragons on the island? The girls have so much to explore. The adventure really picks up when they discover a tiny home built into the bottom of a tree where it’s beginning to split into large, old roots. There they find a pocket gorilla living inside. Every page of this story is filled with creative wonders that readers of any age will enjoy.
What a delightful, beautiful little book. The artistic style brings you back to older style gardening books with lots of lines to indicate shadow and details in the leaves, petals of the flowers and insects. Yet, there is a modern take to this style that includes the adorable characters. It is filled with vibrant colors and a lot of detail to catch the eye.
Overall, this is a wonderful short comic. I would certainly check out the rest of Liniers’ Toon Books, including the books, The Big Wet Balloon, Written and Drawn by Henrietta, and Good Night Planet. Wildflowers is a level 2 reader which is recommended for grades 1-2, reading recovery level 11-18, and guided reading level G-K. This makes it very easy to determine if the reading level is appropriate. The story is fun and the characters are colorful in personality as well as in artistic style. It would be a superb addition to any children’s library collection.
Wildflowers
By Liniers
TOON Books, 2021
ISBN: 9781943145539
Publisher Age Rating: 6 – 9
NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9), Middle Grade (7-11), Picture Books (3-8)
